Curled in Front of the Hearth

Christmas break was a time of rest and time spent with family. It was not all play and no work though. I did work quite a bit at the nursing home and Hannaford as well. But overall, it was wonderful to be home with my family and friends. To celebrate my favorite holiday, with the ones that I love, was a huge blessing, especially after missing Thanksgiving with them. My family waited for me to get home to decorate for Christmas which is always a family time. God even provided for me financially by allowing me to work.

However, it was not all pleasantness and laughter. It was during our time of decorating, that I found out that I had not passed my Maternal Child nursing class with a good enough grade to continue in the nursing program at Maranatha. I had received a 72.9, and I needed a 73.5. I talked with the teacher to see if there was anything that I could do to raise my grade up that 6/10 of a point. I was told no, and it felt like my whole world had collapsed underneath me. I felt like God had me at Maranatha for a reason, and now this. I was crushed and heartbroken. I had no idea what to do. But God did….

After talking with my parents, praying and asking God for guidance, I decided to transfer home, continue my education at the local university. I went to the University College at Rockland to register for classes that week. Because it was so late in the year, it was hard to get into classes, let alone the nursing program. The wait list for the nursing program was two years. Fortunately, I was able to sign up for two nursing elective classes. On the other hand, in order to be full time, I had to sign up for two classes that I didn’t really need. I signed up for two classes that I thought that I would do well in and that I would enjoy- Geography and Masterpieces in World Literature.

Although, I could not see God’s purpose in all of this, I knew His hand was in it all. And looking back, I can see what His plan was all along. But of course, hindsight is 20/20. At the time, all I knew for sure was that my time at Maranatha had come to an end. Now I know many of the reasons that God had for that change in my life. Too bad I couldn’t have known then. It just reminds more and more every day, that as long as I am curled in front of the hearth, resting in God’s will, comfort, control, and security, then I am exactly where I belong.

A Kat Wandering Aimlessly

My trip home was certainly a new experience. Not that I am new to flying; in fact, I have flown several times, and I absolutely despise it. This trip undoubtedly strengthened my deep hatred for airports and flying.

I was scheduled to leave Friday, Dec 19^th at 9am. On Thursday, the night before, I went online to print my boarding pass. It was then that I discovered that my flight had been cancelled. I knew that we were supposed to have a huge snowstorm in Wisconsin, but it hadn’t even started snowing yet and my flight had already been cancelled. However, I found that I had already been re-booked for a 10:30am flight. This was good enough. I went back to my room happy that I was still able to fly out in the morning and went to sleep in peace.

I woke up the next morning at six and immediately checked on my flight which I found was cancelled again. This time though my flight had not yet been re-booked. So…. I got up and got ready for the day, said goodbye to all my friends, and headed with Abby to Milwaukee expecting a long day at the airport. I knew that I had to try to get on another flight or hope to get on one standby. Half way to the airport, I received a phone call from my father saying that they had finally re-booked my flight for 6:10pm on the following night. It looked like I would be in Watertown one more night.

So I came back to campus and said hi to all the friends that I had just said goodbye to, and asked Mr. Rick if I could come over to his house that evening. The dining hall was closing at 12:30pm, and I had nothing to do that night because Lynnae was leaving at 11:30am. Mr. Rick said that was fine for which I was glad. I then helped Lynnae pack up and leave. I gave her a hug before she got into the car with her father. And then I was left alone in Lynnae’s room by myself. I did go over to Boss’ for dinner and a movie. We had stir fry and watched the “Angel Doll.” And then I said my final goodbyes to Mr. Rick and family, and headed back to the dorm for my last night in Watertown for the year.

The next morning was slow and boring. I played on the computer and read books to keep busy. And then it came the time to leave. Tim came to pick me up and we headed to Milwaukee. The ride was fun, and we ultimately arrived at General Mitchell Airport. I checked in and found that my flight had been delayed to 6:52pm, giving me only a five minute lay over in Detroit. It would be the run of my life to get to my connecting flight, but I could handle it. At least my plane was leaving this time. As time passed, I became aware that I would not be making my connecting flight. This became apparent when at 6:52pm we had just boarded the plane. We were then informed that we were third in line to be de-iced before we could take off. During the time that we were waiting, the airport closed for snow removal (on top of all this, it was snowing). We had to wait for them to reopen the airport so we could take off. By the time that we left, my connecting flight had already left Detroit. Everyone on my flight had actually missed their connecting flight. I knew that I had to make a quick exit once the plane landed in order to get things situated without standing in line forever.

As soon as my plane landed, I headed to the closest desk I could find. I obviously wasn’t the first person in line, but I didn’t have to wait too terribly long. At the desk, they informed me that my plane leaving late was due to mechanical difficulties, and therefore, I could get a hotel voucher for the night. I wasn’t about to argue so I was given a hotel voucher for Best Western and booked for a flight the following evening. I went to retrieve my luggage, but then was informed that I would not be allowed to get my luggage. Everyone’s luggage was dropped into a storage room, and it would be impossible to find my bag. I was given an airport “overnight bag” to hold me over for the night. It had a t-shirt (XL I might add), toothbrush, razor, hair brush, and toothpaste. I was not overly pleased, but it would do. I went down to catch the shuttle for Best Western. After waiting for over a half an hour with no sign of a Best Western shuttle, another person who was on the same flight and waiting for the same shuttle, called the hotel. It was then that we found out that Best Western was completely booked and would not be sending anymore shuttles for the night. I was very irritated as I walked back up to the customer service desk to obtain another hotel voucher. This one was for the Quality Inn (a better hotel in my opinion), and I was finally able to crawl into a bed for the night.

The next morning I went to the airport early to try to retrieve my bag again. I got in the back of a very long line as everyone was trying to do the same as I was. When I finally got to the counter and explained the reason that I needed my luggage (my heart medications were in it), I was told that they would not look for my bag, but would call an ambulance if I needed them to. How rude! I was infuriated, upset, and on the verge of tears. So I left the counter and went to a waiting area in the airport, and just cried. One very nice airport employee came up and asked if there was anything that he could do. I politely thanked him, but declined. I called my parents who had just gotten out of church and explained what had transpired. My father firmly informed me that I needed to demand to speak to the supervisor next time. So I got in line again and waited again. This time when I got to the desk, and the lady said that they would not look for my bag, I asked for her supervisor. And get this… she said, “My supervisor is not here today.” To which I very politely, but a little irritatingly replied, “There has to be someone in this airport that is above you. I know that you don’t run this place so I would like to speak to the person that is above you that is here today.” She rolled her eyes and said she would have to make a phone call. I remained at the desk while she made her call. She got off the phone and said someone would be down to speak with me shortly.

After several minutes, a very nicely dressed woman came in to talk to me. And we went through the whole thing all over again. I said I needed my bag because I needed my heart meds. She said that no one was getting their bags due to the large number of flight cancellations that they had had, and the thousands of bags that they had in the queue. I replied that she could keep the bag as long as I could get my meds out of it. She answered that it would be impossible to find the bag with the lack of man power that they had. She then added that she could call the ambulance for me. Tears were falling down my face now. I very quietly said, “You don’t understand. I can’t afford an ambulance and an ER visit.” I don’t know what changed her mind, but she said that she would try to find my bag. She took me up to another floor, got a description of my bag, and asked me to stay in a particular waiting area so that she could find when they had retrieved my bag.

Relieved and exhausted, I sat down and fell asleep. About an hour or so later, I checked the computer to see about the status of my flight. Thankfully there was an airport computer in the waiting area where I was. However, when I checked, it just said please see attendant. This made me nervous. Rather than going to a ticket desk to find out what was wrong, I waited for the nice woman to come back. I wanted to make sure that she could find me if they found my bag. A few hours later, she came to check on me and informed me that they were still looking. It was then that I asked her about my flight status. I found out that it had again been cancelled. I was extremely disappointed when she told me this. I could feel my heart sink right into the pit of my stomach. I just wanted to go home. I think she saw the disappointment and started working on rebooking my flight. She booked me on a flight for the next day at 1:30pm. She asked if I had some place that I could stay tonight, and I said I would find out. She left me again, and I started to working on finding lodging.

I called Lynnae. I know this seems strange with Lynnae being from Kansas City, MO. I mean what could she do. But she made all the difference in the world. We were both friends with her roommate Mandy Jo who lived in Detroit. But I didn’t have Mandy’s number, and Lynnae did. I got her number and made the call. Mandy and her family were more than willing to help and said they would be over shortly to pick me up. I was relieved. The woman came back to check on me. I told her I was staying with friends who were coming to pick me up. She got my information so that she could call me when they found my bag. Mandy and her father arrived shortly after, and we all headed to Mandy Jo’s. About five minutes out, I got a call from the airport saying that they had found my bag. We turned around and got the bag.

Eventually, we arrived at Mandy’s and started one of the most memorable nights ever. They were having a “girls’ night” with some of the women from the church. We had tacos and then watched “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It sounds really simple, but it was incredibly fun, and I laughed a lot! It was a great way to spend my night stuck in Detroit.

The next morning, Mandy and her mother drove me to the airport. My flight was on time and everything looked to be going good. I even realized right before boarding the plane that the kind woman who had helped me the day before had bumped me up to first class no charge. So I rode home first class and finally landed in Portland, ME that evening. After wandering airports for three days, boy, was I glad to be home.

Howling at the Moon

During the fall semester, I was in the Chambers Singers as I have mentioned before. This year’s Christmas program for the college was the Messiah which meant that I had only a few weeks to learn the music for this incredibly difficult and challenging piece. Let me tell you, this was not easy. Between classes and work, I would spend much of my time in one of the practice rooms at the dorm practicing my part for the performance. On top of this, I had to deal with the feeling of being constantly behind due to the fact that while most of the choir had performed this last year for Christmas, I was not in choir until second semester. I was in over my head. But God doesn’t give you anything that you can’t handle. And this proved true once again.

The performance went off very smoothly. I had a very enjoyable time with my friends, and as Dr. Ledgerwood kept reminding us, this was a way of bringing honor to our Lord. This was very convicting for me. Before I was concerned about missing my notes because I might sound bad, but now I didn’t want to miss my notes because it would bring less honor to God. I tried my very best and think that God was honored in the best way that I could honor Him that night.

After the performance on Friday night, there was a Late Skate at the local roller skating rink in town. For those who don’t remember from some of my previous posts what a late skate is, it is a time when we rent out the roller skating rink, play our own music, and skate from 10pm until 1am. This one was one of the best late skates that I have ever been to. It was so much fun. I was able to hang out with so many different people and have such a good time, that even the couples skates couldn’t even bring me down. I even won the limbo which I have been trying to do at late skates ever since I got to Maranatha. I know it seems silly, but it just made my night.

Little did I know, this performance and late night fun, would be one of the last times that I would be able to hang out with all of friends at the same time. News that I would get over Christmas break would change my life dramatically, prevent me from returning to Maranatha. So while I didn’t know about the future, it was the perfect way to end a semester: honoring God with music and Christian fellowship among friends.

Taking in a Stray Kat

Thanksgiving is always a tricky time for me being so far from home. The break is not long enough to go home, but it can some time be a challenge to find a place to go for Thanksgiving. I had friends from home that had moved to the area that had invited me to stay with them for the break if I couldn’t find a place to go. I had been praying that Lynnae would invite me home, but as it got closer and closer to Thanksgiving, I began thinking that that wasn’t going to happen. Then one day, out of the blue (or at least, it seemed that way to me), Lynnae asked if I would come home with her for Thanksgiving. I was elated. I had a place to go, and it was the place that I wanted to go to.

We had decided to cut classes on Monday and Tuesday the week of Thanksgiving break so that we could leave after classes on the Friday before to head to Kansas City, MO where Jarid and Lynnae live. So after class, I packed up and went to pick up Lynnae and then Jarid. Jarid was in the mood to drive so I let him (partly because I hate driving and partly because there is no arguing with Jarid). Thanks to Jarid’s willingness to drive, I was able to sleep most of the way there. We finally arrived late Friday night.

The week flew by. I was able to visit Lynnae’s high school and watch her cheer with her old team. I was able to make some money by helping to clean and paint an apartment with Lynnae, Jarid, and Lindsay (Jarid’s girlfriend). Lynnae and I had a few lazy days where we just watched movies and did some homework. I found out that I got a 99% on my nursing paper which just about made my day.

There were a few days that stood out above all the rest. The Saturday after we arrived was one of these days. Jarid, Lindsay, Lynnae, and I went to their church’s Singles Class Activity. We went to a farm. It was so strange to see this huge farm in the middle of the city. I didn’t think that things like that existed, but apparently they do. We played basketball, went skeet shooting (loads of fun and I happen to be good at it), went on a hayride, and had hotdogs and smores around a campfire. The testimony time was especially encouraging.

Another day was the very next day, Sunday. It was the 25^th anniversary of their pastor ministering at Lynnae’s church, Tri City Baptist. That evening, there was a surprise celebration in place of the evening service. It was so exciting to see everyone come together to honor such a special family. The Herbster children ministered in music which was very encouraging, and stories were told as well. It was an all over good and God-honoring time.

Finally, Thanksgiving Day was incredibly memorable. Although it was hard being away from my family (I did call them and wish them a Happy Thanksgiving just the same), it was a pretty good day with my best friend’s family. We had dinner and had wonderful conversation. After dinner, I played dominoes with the “adults” in the family and then played Settlers with the “children” (really teenagers) of the family. It was just a relaxing, fun filled day spending with some who I called family.

A story would not be a good story without a disaster. And so enters our little disaster/adventure. On the way back to the school, we met with a huge snow storm. Lynnae had driven for a short while before it started getting slippery out, but I drove most of the time. Let me tell you I had a death grip on the steering wheel most of the way. We watched people do doughnuts in the middle of the road, drive into the median on the highway, and fish tail the whole way. I was not about to do any of those things, and drove extra careful. What was supposed to be an 8 hour drive turned into a 16 hour drive, and we did not end up arriving at school until 6am the morning classes were to resume. And no I wasn’t able to take a nap either. I had class at 8:20.

Kat Fights

The school year started out with soccer. Preseason began a week before classes and this year would be a whole new experience. This year both the guys and the girls had new coaches. Jeff Pill was the head of the entire soccer program and also the men’s new soccer coach. He was such a great help to both teams. His knowledge and skill in the game was amazing (probably helped that he was a US Women’s Soccer coach). The women had two new soccer coaches: Hayley McGrail and Sommer Rodolph, both of whom I thought were great despite it being there first year coaching college soccer. Both were previous players for Maranatha playing opposite positions: Sommer playing offense and Hayley playing defense. It was a good balance for the team.

The first week was rough. I was not in as good o shape as I had hoped that I would be and my heart condition was causing problems. But at the end of the week, when MBBC played Philadelphia Biblical University, I was the starting left defensive wing. I didn’t play great, but good enough, and our team had a good day. We beat PBU 4-1, and PBU was the team that won the NCCAA National Women’s Soccer tournament last year. It was a wonderful way to start out our soccer season.

For those who don’t understand or care to understand soccer lingo, I am sorry for the next part. Our team started out in a 3-4-3 formation with a line defense, but then moved to 3-5-2 formation half way through the year. My position didn’t change with the formation, but we all had to learn to play a little differently. In the end, it was a good thing that I think worked well for us and really strengthened our team. Our leading scorer was Melissa Nichols who almost broke the MBBC record for most goals scored. She ended second on the record books, second only to our very own coach, Sommer, who still holds the number one spot.

Our season was filled with ups and downs. We had some awesome wins and some disappointing losses. Our team ended missing the Northern Athletics Conference playoffs by one game. However, both the men’s and the women’s soccer teams made the NCCAA National Tournament. The women beat Northland Baptist Bible College (the only other team in our NCCAA region) twice which gave us an automatic bid to the national tournament. The men, on the other hand, had several teams in their conference, all of whom they had already beaten. Because of this, the men’s team went into their regional tournament in first place and easily took the championship, sending them to the national tourney as well.

The national tournament was the trip of a life time. I am so glad that God worked everything out so that I couldn’t go on choir tour because if He hadn’t, I never would have experienced half of what I did on the soccer nationals trip, and it was such a blessing. We left on the Tuesday evening before the tourney on a rented coach bus. The boys and girls traveled together on this bus the 24 hours down to Kissimmee, FL. This bus was incredibly high tech. It had wireless and computer plug ins, as well as multiple TVs with a DVD player. It was super nice. Most of the way down, I hung out with Rachel watching movies and just talking about everything.

On the way down, we stopped at Alex Board’s house in GA to have some lunch and relax. It was lots of fun. We had a huge display of food to choose from, and were able to play a little pool and kick a soccer ball around. It was nice to get off the bus and move around a bit. We then loaded up again and went the rest of the way to Florida. We arrived late Wednesday night. The teams met together to have sort of a prayer meeting, and then while the guys went for a run, the girls went for a dip in the pool at the hotel. We all went to bed to rest up for the next day.

The next day both the guy’s and the girl’s teams had soccer practice. We traveled over to the field and started to practice. We were all definitely not used to the weather that was sure. We had just left Wisconsin where it was getting close to freezing and ended up in Florida where it was in the 70s. The practice was good because it got our bodies used to heat, well at least a little. That evening was the opening meetings. We went to this beautiful place where dinner was provided and a “show.” We listened to a speaker and then watched a video that they had put together.

The next day we had a game against North Central University which we won 3-1. It was a good start to our post season. The men on the other hand lost their first game which was disappointing. Also on this day was the Parade of Champions where all the competing teams marched out on the field to be announced.

The next day we had another game against Southeastern University. It was very hard and disappointing game in which we lost 5-1. It was a very frustrating game. The men won their second game, and it was a very exciting game. The men were behind Central Christians Saints and ended up tying the game, putting us into overtime. They finally scored in overtime to win the game. We also watched a shuttle being launched on this Saturday. The paused the games so that everyone could watch. The shuttle was launched from Kennedy Space Center, and it was quite an amazing sight. After we returned to the hotel, a few of us got together to play beach volleyball. The sand was cold and most of played in our socks. I kicked the volleyball and lost it in a tree once, and then James hit the ball a little too hard, and it end up on the roof of the hotel. I am not sure how he got up there, but he did eventually get it down. It was definitely good for a laugh.

Sunday was definitely a day of rest. We attended church on Sunday morning, and then spent the rest of the day relaxing. I spent most of the day by the pool either swimming or soaking up the sun. It was nice to have a day when I didn’t have to do anything. We all had a blast messing around in the pool. I was able to do a little reading too which was something I had not had time for recently.

Our last day in Florida ended bitter sweetly. The men’s team won their last game against Southwest Christian 6-1. It was a very exciting game. This put the men in fifth place. The women’s team lost to Manhattan Christian University 2-0. It was a tremendously hard fought game. We out shot Manhattan 26-6, and still were unable to score a goal. It was disappointing to not place third, but fourth place wasn’t bad. Fourth place was better than we had done last year at Nationals. It was especially sad for me because although it had been a good season, it was unfortunately my last season. I am definitely going to miss the game, and will still play every chance that I get.

After our games, we showered and all loaded up into the bus for the long ride home. Ryan and I sat together for the remainder of the trip and watched movies. During the night, I chose to sleep on the floor which really was more comfortable than sleeping in the chair. I woke up earlier than most others and did a little homework before Ryan work up. Then we watched movies again until we got back to school. It was poignant when we finally got back. I was sad that it was over, but also at the same time incredibly thankful to God for an opportunity that I would trade for the world.

Philadelphia Biblical University (H) W 4-1
Dominican University (A) L 3-0
Dubuque University (A) L 3-0
Northland Baptist Bible College (H) W 5-0
Mt. Mary College (H) W 13-0
Wisconsin Lutheran College (H) W 1-0
Concordia Wisconsin (H) L 2-0
Alverno (A) W 9-0
Marian (A) L 2-1
Aurora University (H) L 6-0
North Central College (H) L 1-0 (OT)
Benedictine University (H) W 1-0
Lakeland College (A) W 2-1
Concordia Chicago (H) W 7-0
Edgewood (A) L 4-0
Rockford (A) W 4-1
Northland Baptist Bible College (A) W 1-0
Milwaukee School of Engineering (H) L 2-1

NCCAA Tournament
North Central College W 3-1
Southeastern University L 5-1
Manhattan Christian College L 2-0
Final: 4th place

Katastrophe

Half way through my wonderful, yet exhausting semester, I got some devastating news. I received an email from the registrar’s office saying that I would not be allowed to go on choir tour due to the fact that I would miss classes in a class that I was struggling in and that I would miss clinicals. I would still be allowed to go to soccer nationals, but not both. To many this may not seem like a big deal, but to me it was huge. This is what we as a choir had been preparing for all semester. Having gone on choir tour last semester, I have to say that it was an amazing experience and a tremendous blessing. This was not a blessing that I wanted to miss out on this year.

After crying for a while, I polite sent a email back to the registrar’s office pleading with them to let me go if I could find a way to make it work out with choir tour and nationals and not missing any clinicals and a minimal amount of classes. While waiting for a response, I looked at the price of plane tickets would I would need in order to go to both nationals and choir tour. I knew that I didn’t have the money, but I prayed that God would find a way. I needed 280 dollars to make it work and I began praying specifically for that amount of money. Three days later, someone anonymously put an envelope of $260 cash in my mailbox. I couldn’t believe it. Unfortunately, the registrar’s office said no that I couldn’t go on choir tour.

Thankfully, I was with my best friend when I got the news. I don’t what I would have done without her. She will say that she didn’t really do much (she is not really a touchy, feely person), but she truly helped me. She did give me a hug and just said that maybe God had a reason that He didn’t want me to go on choir tour, and that He something better for me by staying back. Of course, she was right. I had blast on the coach bus traveling down to Florida with the guys’ and girls’ soccer teams. It was a huge blessing much like choir tour had been the year before, and I would have missed out on it if I had gone on choir tour. I got closer to a lot of girls on the team and made some new friends in the process, and I would not have traded that for the world or choir tour!

Barnyard Kats

Part way through the semester, my society (ΔΕΙ- Day), had a dating outing. When the girls dorms have dating outings, that means that the girls are suppose to ask the guys. I decided to play it safe and ask a good friend, Ethan, rather than a guy that I like. Let me tell you, I was so nervous asking him too because I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. At the same time, my friend, Julia, also asked a good friend, Zac, to go, and it just so happened that Ethan and Zac were roommates and good friends as well. So we all decided to ride in my car together to the farm that the corn maze was at.

We all ate dinner in the dining hall together. Woot! Woot! (Can you sense the sarcasm?) Then we all headed back to our dorms to change for the outing. When we went to pick up the guys at their dorm, they asked if Joe, another friend, could come with. We said sure and all five of us piled into the car. Ethan drove because he didn’t want a girl to drive him to a date, but I didn’t care because I don’t like driving. We jammed to music the whole way and had a good time before we even got out the car.

At the corn maze, it was a tad bit chilly. Already November, it was raining and getting cold as the sun was setting. We began with 1/8 of the map to get through the maze. The goal was to get through the maze stopping at each of the eight mailboxes to get the next part of the map. Ethan and I led the way for the first half and got us to all the mailboxes in order. Then we handed the map over to Zac and Julia, and things went downhill from there. Let’s just say we were lost a lot. We skipped mailbox five and ended up finding six and seven and got out of the maze the wrong way. It didn’t matter though because we had a good time. We laughed and goofed off and just hung out together.

Afterwards, the entire society and all their dates got together around the fire to have smores and hang out. It was a good time of fellowship and fun. I got to know Matt, another friend of mine, a little better as he was there with another girl from my society. We talked about music and our lives back home, but soon it was time to leave. Joe drove home because we realized that he was the only one who had his license with him. I didn’t realize how cold I was until I got into the backseat of the car. I was absolutely freezing. Joe cranked the heat and everyone graciously piled their coats on me so that I would stop shivering. I finally stopped, but by that time, everyone else in the car was roasting. We went got back to the dorms, everyone was exhausted. We all said goodbye and headed for bed. It was so much fun just to hang out with no pressure to really “date.” Just to be with friends at the farm and be a bunch of “barnyard kats.”